Biological Sciences PhD

The School of Biological Sciences provides PhD and MPhil (research degree) programmes in subjects ranging from basic biochemistry, molecular genetics and cancer research, to agricultural science, marine ecology and the economic evaluation of ecosystem services and food retailing. If you have a topic or research question in mind, please use the Find a Supervisor link (see Apply tab) to identify the most appropriate member of staff to support your idea. If not, don't worry, we regularly advertise funded projects and there is no harm in browsing our academic staff profiles for inspiration and then contacting whoever seems best: we are very open to applications from suitably qualified people interested in scientific research.

In every case, a PhD or MPhil course provides the means of being part of a cutting edge scientific research team and contributing to genuine new discoveries or the development of new methods for practical use. If you cannot study full time, we offer pro-rata part time research degree programmes as well. There are three broad themes to research at the School: - Agri-Food Systems and Human Nutrition - Understanding Health and Disease - Sustaining Ecosystems and Biodiversity Agri-Food Systems and Human Nutrition: This theme focuses on how Agri-Food systems can be better positioned to provide safe, authentic and healthy diets with high-quality plant, livestock, and aquaculture products, whilst supporting human and animal health in a way that is sustainable and resilient to climactic changes.

Underpinning these goals, the disciplinary expertise of the theme integrates basic and applied research from animal health and welfare, nutrition, performance, and environmental and social impact (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions from livestock) to chemical contaminant and natural toxin detection, food microbiology, food fraud detection, and food systems traceability and transparency, integrated into a holistic total systems approach. Supporting by underpinning expertise in cutting-edge molecular, genomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic technologies, artificial intelligence and simulation modelling, the goal of the theme is to support the transformation of global Agri-Food systems. This is with the purpose of maximising the benefits both to animal and human nutrition and health, while simultaneously reducing environmental impact, protecting ecological resources, supporting livelihoods and access to affordable safe foods, and upholding social, cultural, and ethical values.

A system based on the principles of measurable integrity and impact. Understanding Health and Disease: The Understanding Health and Disease research theme covers humans, plants, and animals with research strengths in prevention, diagnostics, surveillance, epidemiology, and treatments. We study how health can be improved through food and nutrition and how diseases can be tackled by understanding their fundamental molecular mechanisms, including those underpinning the biology of pathogens and parasites.

Our researchers work in human cancer and genetic diseases, in infections caused by bacteria, fungi, viruses, and parasites, and in how global health and disease will be affected by global warming and climate change. We recognize that the only way to tackle the problems we face as a society is to take an interdisciplinary approach to our research. This means we have expertise in broad areas including molecular biology, biochemistry, bioinformatics, genomics, transcriptomics, modelling, bioanalytical chemistry, proteomics, metabolomics, microbiology, parasitology, and plant biology.

We work internationally with researchers and partners in universities, charities, non-governmental organisations, industry, and government agencies to tackle local and global challenges. Sustaining Ecosystems and Biodiversity: This theme covers research in biodiversity and ecosystem services for environments ranging from tropical forests to deep oceans, using field…